VENUE: The Walled Garden, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxon, OX20 1PS

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Messums is pleased to announce an exhibition of sculpture by Bridget McCrum in the Walled Garden at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, one of the oldest parts of the Gardens at Blenheim modelled by Capability Brown. The exhibition brings together the most comprehensive presentation of McCrum’s iconic bird sculptures in stone and bronzes spanning a period of over 30 years.

Now 91 years old this exhibition reflects her lifetime and sensibilities an artist, archaeologist and explorer, who travelled extensively in the Middle East in her formative years. Wherever she has gone, she has been inspired by the environments, cultures and objects she has encountered, from African standing stones and ceremonial weaponry to Mediterranean temples, seashells, and the rolling hills and soaring seabirds of her South Devon home. Her sculptures provide focal points in the landscape, accents to natural or man-made formations – at once, monumental and hugely sensitive. One of the last true Modernist sculptors in the tradition of Brancusi and Epstein, her work references ancient civilisations, modern explorations into minimalism and abstraction, and her own relationship with the natural world.

The title of the exhibition The Conference of the Birds derives in part from a 12th century Persian allegorical poem in which a group of birds, each representing a human character trope, undertake a great journey to find a legendary creature who could become their leader. In the end, they find that no such being exists; but their quest was not in vain, as their journey was in fact one of self-discovery and enlightenment. The shape and movement of birds has long been the guiding inspiration of McCrum’s work, acting as a conduit to contemplate spirituality and meaning through form and material. Throughout history and wherever they occur in the world, walled gardens have been places of tranquillity and contemplation, designed for the cultivation of nourishment for both body and mind. Indeed, the word ‘paradise’ derives from the Old Persian word ‘pairidaēza’, meaning enclosed garden. In this exhibition, McCrum’s sculptures lead the viewer through the magnificent Walled Garden at Blenheim Palace with each piece striking a different note, inspiring new thought.

At the start of this solo exhibition at Blenheim Palace is McCrum’s Merlin sculpture; a vast bronze bird soaring triumphantly. The piece was commissioned by Rolls Royce to commemorate the company’s most famous engine, the Merlin, named after the eponymous seabird, which was integral to British fighter planes during the Second World War such as the iconic Spitfire. The sculpture’s outspread elliptical wings oriented vertically hint at the unique shape of the Spitfire which, combined with its engine made it so effective. It is apt therefore, given Blenheim Palace’s connection to the great war leader Sir Winston Churchill, that this piece takes pride of place in the show.

Now in her 90s, McCrum has stopped carving, and the exhibition includes her final two stone sculptures.